It is desirable in aircraft to provide for conversion of space from utilization as essentially cargo carrying to other purposes. To accomplish this it is desirable to provide a multiplicity of rollers on the deck of the cargo space to facilitate movement of pallets, large containers or other articles thereover. When the space is to be utilized for other purposes, which do not require the presence of the rollers, it is desirable to remove the rollers.
In the past the installation and removal of rollers has been accomplished in various ways, such for example as provided rollers in a multiplicity of separate roller trays. This has necessitated a troublesome and time consuming operation in installation and removal of the trays and moreover requires separate storage of the trays when not in use.
It has previously been suggested to provide elongated flexible roller structure which can be mounted on the floor of a truck or trailer in which the individual rollers are mounted on flat sections having roller supporting flanges at their ends. These sections are said to be hinged or articulated. This construction is shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,552.
The present invention is in the provision of elongated flexible rail support means for a plurality of rollers particularly adapted for use in the cargo compartment of aircraft and including means for moving the roller construction from an operating position in which it is supported on the deck of a cargo compartment to a stowed position in which it is received within an essentially tubular housing construction located below the deck.